Pastry: Great colour, looked the part but not fresh 6.5/10
Presentation: Tall, skinny rectangle and good ratio of ingredients 7.5/10
Value for money: $6 (estimate) - Small / average sized portion, extremely overpriced 4/10
Overall score: 5.25/10
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Filling: Average whipped cream custard 7/10
Pastry: Great colour, looked the part but not fresh 6.5/10 Presentation: Tall, skinny rectangle and good ratio of ingredients 7.5/10 Value for money: $6 (estimate) - Small / average sized portion, extremely overpriced 4/10 Overall score: 5.25/10
These cakes came as a result of an opportunist walk through the laneways en route to the tram stop on Elizabeth Street. Although the Italian restaurant aren’t known for their cakes, they do offer an array of sweets to temp passers by like me. At a whopping $11.70 for just the vanilla slice and the raspberry macaron, I didn’t feel too cheeky asking for a free iced coffee. To my surprise I actually got it too! - a result of a wrong order sent back and being in the right place at the right time. Disappointingly, the vanilla slice wasn’t fresh, you could see some slight discolouration of the custard upon close inspection and the flaccid and somewhat lifeless pastry did not ooze freshly baked. The whole thing was very average, and not worthy of the hefty price tag. Mrs B thoroughly enjoyed her raspberry cream macaron and I must admit a free iced coffee on a 30 degree day was a bonus. Not all bad bad.
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Filling: Piped vanilla cream custard 6.5/10
Pastry: Fresh, crisp and robust 7.5/10 Presentation: Tri-layer offering, pastry join visible, average piping 7/10 Value for money: $4.50 - Decent portion, tasty but not blown away 7/10 Overall score: 7/10
Walking through North Melbourne on a Saturday afternoon I spotted an opportunity for a French pastry and a coffee. I duly obliged, sitting down to a pain au chocolat and mille-feuille styled vanilla slice with the family. Mrs B noted that the sweet brioche pain au chocolat was nearly as good as the Parisian Baker in Essendon, though it lacked any creme patissiere to really rival our beloved local patisserie. My vanilla slice was fresh and a decent value for the area. The pastry was baked to a slightly harder than usual state, making a clean cut through with a knife somewhat challenging. The filling comprised of sizable lines of piped creme custard. There was some vanilla content present but not overly abundant. The texture, though smooth had more than a hint of cornflour about it - obviously their thickening agent preference over an egg yolk. All up, not bad - but could do better.
Filling: Neon yellow, sticky vanilla custard 7/10
Pastry: Varying thickness and colour, slightly stale 4/10 Presentation: Attention to detail lacking 6/10 Value for money: $5.50, overpriced, but tasty enough 6/10 Overall score: 5.75/10
I noticed whilst wondering through the Foodhall in the basement of David Jones that there were two types of vanilla slice for sale. The first was being sold at the Espresso bar and resembled the Costco slice. The second was this offering from the Patisserie that looked very unique in comparison. It's neon yellow custard was better than expected and was quite creamy and sticky with definite vanilla content. The pastry let the side down, with some risen areas of pale looking layers and some darker more compact sections. Sadly the pastry was not fresh and coupled with slightly-too-thick icing made for an average experience overall.
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Rating: 3/10
In one word: Inferior When in Harbour Town your options for quality coffee and/or cake is limited. Having already visited and blogged about La Cirque that pretty much just leaves Degani (as I wouldn't be desperate enough to resort to The Coffee Club). I've eaten in plenty of Degani's around the city before and their stock does vary from store to store, therefore it was a healthy punt on their French Vanilla slice. At $5.90 the price was pretty hefty. Then, when you consider the overall satisfaction I got I would say that I was ripped off. A poor pastry that was weak, stale and a nightmare to cut through sandwiching an inferior, plane cream filling topped off with a half-arsed dusting of icing sugar pretty much sums it up. Vanilla...what vanilla? Done.
Rating: 6/10
In one Word: Patriotic First things first...Yes this is a doughnut, there is exactly no pastry on offer here. However, due to Australia Day 2016 Krispy Kreme have released limited edition Vanilla Slice and Lamington doughnuts. Therefore, its within the rules! Krispy Kreme are a reliable staple of sweetness and consistency, however I only eat them from a genuine outlet like the one on Swanston Street, not the ones you can buy at 7 Elevens everywhere. That way there are much fresher and there is significantly more choice. The VS doughnut was pretty good; typical KK doughnut taste with highly sweetened custard that lacked a real punch of vanilla. The icing was more decorative than functional in its taste, contributing to the royal icing appearance, but in truth just adding more sweetness to the whole thing. Fun to try!
Rating: 6/10
In one word: Overpriced Whilst enjoying a spot of lunch and a beer in Federation Square with friends I noticed on the menu that vanilla slices were actually advertised within the desserts and cakes section. At a whopping $8.50 I was expecting some sexy presentation on a plate; drizzles of coulis, cream or ice cream at least? Nope. Whilst I watched larger cake portions decorated with ice cream and the like being served to other patrons, this poor vanilla slice did not receive the same treatment. Shared amongst the three of us we all had a third, and in a first for my blog, I have some guest reviewers. "Nice but overpriced, the custard was delicious but disappointed with the pastry" 6/10 - Em "I really enjoyed the custard inside, it was nicely chilled, was messy to eat but worth it" 7/10 - Lynsey This 'break-the-bank' vanilla slice was not even fresh. The pastry was soggy and hellish to cut into portions with a knife. The hero was the sweet, fluffy, chilled vanilla custard. It really did taste of vanilla, but essence was clearly used as there were no speckles through the filling. I really enjoyed the sticky icing too, spread thinly and a lovely glossy appearance. I suggest that Time Out differentiate their dessert menu a little better; perhaps price bigger and smaller cakes at different prices. At the very least, make more of an effort with the freshness of their cakes and present them on a plate showing some care and artistry. For $8.50 we all felt a little cheated.
Rating: 7/10
In one word: Deja Vu I'm not fond of repeating myself, and to be honest this vanilla slice in Melbourne CBD reminded me of one I had a fortnight ago and reviewed in this post: http://byronsvanillasliceblog.weebly.com/snot-blog/b4-food-clayton-vic Whilst I'm not detective, I can make an educated guess that these two cafe's have the same supplier of baked goods, as they clearly are not baked in house. Not a bad little slice for $4.
Rating: 4/10
In one word: Sub-standard Purchased en-route home from the city, there aren't too many good vanilla slice options in Melbourne Central unless you go to chain coffee shops. This one looked OK so got it home and served it up with some raspberries. "Coffee is our passion" is the slogan, clearly not vanilla slices. This one was soggy and bland. The pastry was so soggy that I gave up trying to cut it with a knife and fork and just ate the custard, icing and raspberries. The custard was serviceable and mildly vanilla tasting, but nothing special and the fondant icing adequate at best. Thank goodness I had the lovely raspberries too!
Rating: 6/10
In one word: Average Winners of lots of pie competitions, this place was a good bet for decent pastry. Actually, the pastry was not bad at all. It's consistency much like a traditional puff in thin layers and no sign of moisture from the custard. The custard itself, pretty 'bog-standard Aussie bakery' vanilla slice and verging on a little gelatinous. The taste was much better than the texture in all honesty, but no custard spillage as a result. The icing again rather average and a little too thick, but at $3.80 the price is more than appealing. I would have to agree with their slogan: "Fresh food for busy people", but a reminder of how far I have come that I only score this 'more than adequate' vanilla slice at only a 6/10.
Rating: 6.5/10
In one word: Squashed The temptation of a sneaky vanilla slice for my commute home was too great, so I was happy to take the last one from Cafe Baguette. Unfortunately a crowded train with no plate or fork was not a good setting to photograph and eat the slice so I carefully tucked it into my bag...bad idea! It looked perfectly formed in the glass cabinet, but sadly when it reached my plate it was slighty deformed and had begun to go soggy. I must say that the custard was pretty good nevertheless, a good viscosity and packed full of real vanilla. The icing too was still in good enough shape to enjoy even if the pastry foundations were subsiding beneath.
Rating: 2/10
In one word: Disastrous This vanilla slice lacks in many areas; Cost, flavour and texture. Firstly, at $4.50 it's not the most economical for what you actually get. The flavours or lack of it are the main problem. The pastry is like cardboard in taste and texture and the slimey, tasteless cream contains no vanilla, sweetness or any distinguishable flavour whatsoever. It sounds ridiculous, but even the icing sugar was lacking sweetness. The whole thing was a real disaster and the museum should reconsider their supplier quickly. The second photo shows what was thrown away rather than consumed.
Rating: 4/10
In one word: Underachiever The cake shop has a good reputation inside of the busy deli hall and I was interested to see how their 'French vanilla slice' would fare. Starting with the positives; the appearence is very inviting, with a tall, slender, triple layered stature and glossy, decorative icing on top. Unfortunately that is where it ends. I sampled the custard first with a fork; its slightly rubbery texture and non -descript flavour was cause for concern. It lacked any real creaminess, richness, egginess and only a very faint hint of vanilla came through. To make matters worse, the pastry was dreadful; a one way trip to soggy town. Good icing though, right? Average at best. Another example of a well proportioned and presented slice, lacking in taste and texture. Rating: 9/10
Best vanilla slice in the CBD that I have found so far. Custard easily as good as Bourkies or Gustos. Delicious flaky pastry and crisp icing made this a joy to cut up and eat, At $2.80 a slice, probably the best value for money per square cm of vanilla slice going too. Very impressed.
Rating: 5/10
Le Cirque's appearance caught my attention and I was convinced that the vanilla slice would be of a high quality, so stopped and got a take away. From the moment I watched the waitress take 3 minutes to cut through the slice into bite size pieces for me to eat I started to feel let down. Unfortunately it was not fresh, a bit rubbery in texture and the pastry not crispy as I'd expect. Even the flavour was nothing memorable. Very presentable in appearance, with nice decorative icing, but hugely lacking in flavour and texture. Nice coffee though!
Rating: 7.5/10
A decent choice when there were so many other delicious looking cakes on offer here. Fresh with a crisp pastry and velvety custard. Major complaint here was portion size. The somewhat small size led me to believe that they are all cut randomly, with some bigger than others. |
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January 2022
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